Standard Common Name

Alternative Name/s

Identification

The Soft Leftvent Angler is a sexually dimorphic species. Females have rounded, unpigmented bodies. They have several spines on the head and a rounded esca on the snout.

Size range

Females grow to around 8 cm in length, but males only grow to about 2 cm.

Distribution

Soft Leftvent Anglers occurs in deep tropical and subtropical marine waters of all oceans. In Australia specimens have been trawled from off central to southern New South Wales and east of Tasmania, but the species is almost certainly more widespread.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Distribution by collection data

Mating and reproduction

Mature males are usually seen permanently attached to females. When a free-living male encounters a female, it bites the female and the skin of his mouth eventually fuses with that of the female. The male then becomes parasitic on the female.